How Outsiders View the USA

One of my favorite things to do in a foreign country is to talk to the people of the land. Not only do you learn a lot about the culture, its individuals and its nation, you also learn about yourself and your roots.

Unsurprisingly, one of my favorite topics to discuss (and one that is hard to bypass coming from the USA) is our government and all the political shenanigans we get ourselves into. And, while I haven't been to a plethora of places (Brazil, Argentina, Egypt and South Korea), there is one general consensus among those who dwell outside the USA: They like our people, but hate our government (this especially includes the Bush administration).

Anyway, I recently attended an orientation for teachers who are teaching English in the Gyeonggi-do province of South Korea and was tickled red, white and blue by all the various represented countries. I was fortunate enough to spend a whole week with 2 roommates, one from Australia and the other from South Africa. Together we discussed various topics regarding our home countries and we even watched US election coverage together.

In addition to all the Kiwis (that's what Australians call themselves) and South Africans, I met people of Hispanic, Irish, New Zealand, and Canadian descent. You can imagine the conversations that ensued within this giant melting pot of English-speakers, especially this close to a US election.

The entire convention my eyes and ears were peeled and perched, ready to digest any conversation about the US. I made mental jots and took ferocious notes like a seasoned sleuth. All in all, these are the general observations I made. Please take them however you please:

-THE "STATES"

This is silly, but comes in handy if you travel. People from the outside do not refer to the USA as "USA." They don't refer to us as "Americans," either, because that includes all of North and South America so it's not specific enough. The "US" is slightly better, but still not up to par. No, my friends, we are referred to as, "The States." I speak form experience when I say that if you say anything else because "The States," people will either scratch their heads in confusion and ask you to specify (America) or laugh at you.

-OBESITY

The US is fat. It's not just something we hear on the news every night, it's a fact. I cannot tell you how many times I've heard about the US and our obesity epidemic from those outside of the States. In fact, I can specifically recall a French lad telling me a few years ago that he was excited to meet a really fat person because his father had told him he'd get to see some when he visited the US. He then asked me, "Why are people so fat? Do they eat a lot of hamburgers?" The answer, in short, is yes.

-GEORGE BUSH IS A JOKE

We already knew he was a joke in the US, but I had no idea his comical reign was viewed in a similar fashion outside our borders. Let me set this one up for you: About 200 of us are listening to a presentation on "How to bring culture into your classroom." The speaker demonstrated by providing a powerpoint that could work in any classroom. Each powerpoint represented a country. For example, for South Africa there was a drum and Desmond Tutu. For Australia there was a kiwi and an kangaroo. Then comes the US screen: Abraham Lincoln and George Bush.

I am not exaggerating when I said the ENTIRE room burst into laughter. Some USA'ers laughed but most winced in pain and ducked for cover. I even heard, "I'm so offended," uttered by a nearby American. Yikes.

I'd rather be known for having kangaroo's.

-GLOBAL ECONOMY

According to the majority of people that I spoke with at the convention, many laid the fault of the Global economy (which is seething in pain, for those of you living under your red, white and blue rock) on the US.

For example, a Canadian who has lived in South Korea for 5 years was explaining the idea of Korean noon-chi to us. Noon-chi (which I'm now obsessed with, btw) is the idea of understanding a situation without being told what's going on. You could call it a 6th sense, but really it's just being perceptive and intuitive. The South Korean culture is centered around this and as a result they are a very relational community. In other words, they focus less on themselves and more on other people so that the community gets along better.

Anyway, in the middle of explaining this, the speaker said, "Korean's don't want to end up like the States. Too much selfish behavior and sloppy actions resulted in this huge global crisis."

The audience murmured in agreement.

-CANADIANS HAVE A CHIP ON THEIR SHOULDER

At the end of the convention, a gentlemen from the United States gave a little speech to wrap things up. He said, "It has been amazing and an eye-opening experience being here with people from all these different countries." I couldn't have said it better.

He went on, "The South African's sure know how to get down, the Irish have the coolest accent ever, talking to New Zealander's is like being on the set of Lord of the Rings, Australian's are some of the kindest people I've met and Canadian's are just like American's only they have a chip on their shoulder."

Everyone laughed, of course, but the Canadian's! But this little comment gave me some juice to use at our next meal. So, following the goodbye ceremony I made sure to eat lunch with a group of Canadians. Of course I asked, "Do you think Canadian's have a chip on their shoulder?"

One quickly blurted out, "NO WAY" while another said, "Of course!" I asked the agreer to explain.

You see, he said, Canada is so close to the United States. We also disagree a lot of the time with what the US is doing but no matter what they choose we essentially have to go along with it since we're so close. Most of us are slightly bitter about it.

Interesting.

-WE'RE KNOWN

People keep up with the US, probably since it is such a world power. In fact, it's always on the news here in South Korea (I can't understand what they say but I see the US flag and our leaders!). The US is also on World News channels such as the BBC and Global CNN every time the news is aired.

Other countries are aware of our politics and the people who reign here. In fact, every country I've traveled in I've encountered a greater percentage of people interested in our politics than I have in my own country. In other words, I've found that it's common for people in the US to be oblivious to what's happening in their own borders while people in other countries are extremely tuned in with what's going down in the Land of the Free.

-OBAMA IS THE MAN

I'm not just saying this because I'm an avid supporter of Obama, but people from outside the US love that black man. And they don't even hate McCain necessarily, they just really like Obama. For example, in one of my 6th grade classes I had some time to kill so I posed a question to my eager class. "Does everyone know about the US elections?" I asked. The kids nodded up and down and shouted yes. "Do you know McCain? Do you know Obama?" Again they nodded. "Who do you want to win?" At this point I grimaced for fear that I would hear the deathly shrill of McCain's name being hurdled from their innocent mouths. Fortunately, the clouds parted and a bluebird swooped into the classroom (not really) as they all shouted "OBAMA!!!" (really).

Talking to others from different countries verified that Obama was a clear favorite, basically for all of the same reasons as he is popular in the US. One critique I did hear about him was, "Do you think he has enough experience?" which is a question posed by those in the US, too.

I did hear one comment that upset me and it actually came from a well-versed teacher named Jung Nam that I work with at my school who has lived in South Korea all her life: "Isn't the US still racist?"

I was upset not because I felt she was judging or wrong, but upset because it's generally true and other countries are aware. Jung Nam was worried that Obama would lose because of this.

The racism issue took me by surprise, but it's true. Since living here I've also seen television shows from the BBC and Australia that pinpoint the US and our issue with race.

-WE'RE ADMIRED FOR OUR PASSION

While we may have made a mistake with they whole GW Bush thing and while as a whole we are seen as a little selfish, the US has one thing going for itself: Its people are passionate.

This election has especially proved that point. We really care about the issues we care about (does that make sense?). There are a lot of controversial issues in the US that always seem to be at the forefront of conversation. Abortion, Racism, Gay rights, ELECTIONS, etc.

A group of Canadians actually pointed this passion out to me. It's something that I've grown up with and as a result grown accustomed to. I often disregarded the back/forth controversial issues as a reason to be bitter and mean. Sometimes it can get that way, but all in all I think it's great. US citizens are taught to speak their mind and as a result we talk about issues that a lot of countries tend to ignore. So A+ for passion, states-ers!

DISCLAIMER:

This article wasn't meant to offend Americans, as I am one myself. The people who I quoted and the various countries I talked about weren't out to bash American's, either. But, even if they were, what does that say about the US actions in general?

So, instead of being offended (which is easy, considering), I hope that this article offers insight and understanding. Like I said, it's not that people dislike America in general, they are just not amused by our loud ruckus. And again, they don't hate Americans on an individual level - they just don't like us as a whole.